Tag: caribbean

Benefits of Traveling for Addiction Recovery When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. – Henry Ford Traveling for addiction recovery offers fresh perspectives allowing for transformative change. When considering all the options out there for addiction recovery, you will find there are all types of programs. There are in-patient, out-patient, in-state, out-of-state, national, and international addiction treatment facilities. Some drug rehabs are 12 step based or holistic in nature. Many are large institutions, some are small, private alcohol & drug rehabs. Many are local, close to home, others are international in scope in travel destinations abroad, out of country. It is important to consider your needs and resources in choosing the best program for you. There are many options to choose from. There are a lot of good…

The Gift of Sobriety this Christmas! 5 Reasons for Why the Holiday Season is a Good Time to Choose Rehab If an addiction has taken over your life, you are probably going to be approaching the holiday season with a sense of dread or excitement – maybe a bit of both. This is a time of year when there are plenty of excuses to party, but there is also the risk of ruining another Christmas for the people we love. A Safe Haven over the Holiday Season Each January there is a surge in the number of people trying to quit alcohol or other drugs. This isn’t just due to the popularity of New Year’s resolutions – it is also because so many of these individuals hit rock bottom over the holiday season. Maybe you will hit your rock bottom…

Family Holiday – Trigger! Family holidays can be wonderful occasions, just like a Normal Rockwell illustration where everyone looks happy. On the other hand, they can be nothing like that at all. They can be a big trigger! Perhaps you grew up in an alcoholic or similarly dysfunctional home and when you get together with your family of origin, you reprise the same role you played growing up: a clown, a scapegoat, or the perfect child. You’ve been battling your demons for years. If you’ve been to rehab or some other form of treatment or therapy in the past, perhaps you thought you had left all those behaviors behind. However, when you see your parents or your siblings, and they offer you a drink or a drug. You gladly accept it even though you thought you were “cured” and promised…

The Renewal of Spring: Starting Afresh with Addiction Recovery! Spring has arrived! After another long and dark winter, the ice is finally melting and rivers are flowing again. The days are becoming longer and lighter, and parades of migrating birds signal brighter times ahead. When alcohol or other drugs have been a problem, this is your time to spring into full recovery! Spring is an invigorating season for most everyone. For those struggling with drug addiction or alcoholism, it is an especially exciting time of renewal and a perfect metaphor for the possibility of healing, renewal, and a new life in recovery. Awaken to possibility Spring is a season of change and new beginnings, and a time for awakening. Look around. As your senses awaken, you’ll see the world around you also stirring to life. There is a rush of real…

15 Things to Let Go Of Here’s a list of 15 things to learn to ‘let go’ of, if you want to be truly happy. Letting go can be simple and straightforward, but difficult to consistently apply to our lives. We need to practice them, over and over, so that the newly learned pattern becomes the default, standard behavior. Remind yourself, over and over, to let go of…. 1. Your need to always be right. “Would I rather be right, or happy?” 2. Control 3. Blame 4. Self-defeating self-talk 5. Limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. “A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” 6. Complaining. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking. 7. Criticism. Give up your need to…

Wildfires in California Spotlight the Rehab Riviera The recent wildfires that tore through California further underscored the need for better oversight of addiction treatment facilities in the area. The human cost was high all over the state, but the fires in Southern California have harmed an especially vulnerable group of people: people in the midst of their addiction treatment. The Woolsey fire in Southern California hit LA hard: Malibu was put under a mandatory evacuation order, which included all sober living and treatment facilities in the area. Malibu has about one sober living or treatment center per square mile, and as the fires raged on, it became clear that many of them were underprepared for a natural disaster. The centers struggled to hold onto clients rather than refer them to other facilities, putting people in the early stages of recovery…

Holistic Rehab- Whole Person Recovery A life of active addiction takes its toll on a person. It affects the person as a whole. The mental, emotional, and spiritual damage can be devastating. All aspects of a person’s life is negatively affected. Therefore, for recovery to be effective, with lasting results, all aspects of the person needs to be addressed, and heal. A comprehensive holistic rehab is optimal for long term recovery. Good rehab is so much more than just stopping drinking. Stopping is the easy part. It’s staying stopped, and living live on the basis of what life presents, with peace of mind and tranquility. That’s what good, healthy, holistic recovery is about. Abstinence Is Only A Beginning Simply stopping the use of drugs and alcohol is not enough. You have been through a life-changing experience in addiction. It changed the person…

When Is The Best Time to Go to Rehab? If you are asking this question, the time is NOW. The Disease of Denial Alcoholism and other forms of addiction is the only disease that tells you that you don’t have a disease. The hallmark symptom of alcoholism is denial. Did you ever hear yourself trying to convince someone that you are NOT an alcoholic or other form of addict? Guess what? People that are not alcoholic, never try to convince anybody that they are not alcoholic. The point is, when the moment of clarity comes for the addict, it won’t last long. This little window of opportunity, when the alcoholic realizes there is a problem is ready for help, is a very little window. Alcoholism is a subtle foe. When the disease of addiction experiences the threat of exposure,…

What is International Private Rehab? “I’m ready to explore my rehab options. What are they?” First of all, congratulations. Admitting that you need help is, as everyone knows by now, the first step to healing. Alcoholism is the only disease that tells you that you don’t have a disease. “Yes, I am trying to stop on my own. But then, I’m drunk again. I’m nervous about AA, it doesn’t make sense. I need an immersion process to recover.” Basically, you have 3 options to treat your alcoholism with residential rehab. A little bit about each: 1. Government or Church/Temple Funded Rehab This is a great treatment option for people who have scarce resources. Wait times are usually high, accommodations are usually stark, but hopefully clean. For the most part, staff can’t handle the low pay and high stress of these…